Love or Hate
by emm3reading
Summary: Modern day high school in Australia. Liv is a new student yet again, and this time she is a new student in Australia. What happens when she unexpectedly falls inlove with the wrong guy, and he breaks her heart? /Eric romance story.
1. Chapter 1

I wake up to the sound of banging on my door.

"Liv! Wake up! You're already going to be late, and it's the first day of school!" warns my mom. I groan, and then feel anger bubbling inside of me.

"Shit, I slept in!" I say aloud, accidentally.

"Watch your language young lady." my mom growl at me.

I open my door to my red faced mom, and give a sweet smile.

"Good morning," I say in a singsong voice. My mom hums in response then gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"Your dad already went to work, and I'm going in a few minutes. Make sure everything is locked up when you leave for school, okay?" my mom tells me, her eyebrows raised.

I nod in response, and turn to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"I'm sorry you have to be the new kid in school again, but it's your dad and I's job." my mom apologizes.

Our family travels to a new country every two or three years, and now we are in Australia. It has been my dream to go to Australia ever since I was a baby, so I'm not complaining. Plus, I'm getting good at the new kid title.

"Don't apologize mom. I love Australia and we've only been here for two months. Sydney has a million things that you can do, and I'm sure the high school is just as good." I reassure her.

She nods with sad eyes, and announces that she is leaving. Once she leaves, I know I only have half an hour to get ready and leave. My morning routine only consists of getting dressed and eating, so I'm sure I can manage to get out of the house by 7:00.

I go to my room and look at the outfit I picked out last night. It consists of tight denim jeans which are high waisted, and a black crop top that covers my stomach thoroughly, thanks to the high waisted jeans. I let my brown, wavy hair down and hang down my back. It's getting too long for my liking, but that's because I'm used to short hair. In reality, it only comes down a little lower than shoulder length. I put on the tiniest bit of mascara, brush my teeth, and decide I'm ready to tackle the first day of school. I have to redo tenth grade, because of how the semesters are set up in Australia. I'm actually okay with that, because I slacked last year, and I want to use this year to redeem myself. I look outside and see a white van filled with kids my age.

 _I better get going,_ I tell myself. I walk to the door, take a deep breath in, and walk outside. The lovely summer air surrounds me, and I am almost immediately at ease.

"Hello, I'm your bus driver Max. You'll be seeing a lot of me." says the man in the driver's seat, with a beautiful Australian accent. That's something I hope I'll pick up.

"Oh, hi. I'd imagine I would see a lot of you, seeing you're my bus driver. I'm Liv." I greet with a smile on my face.

"Liv? I heard your name was Olivia?" a girl from the front of the bus asks.

"Oh, yeah. Olivia is my full name, but I go by Liv." I answer taking that opportunity to sit next to her.

"Well, I'm Christina but I go by Chris, so I understand." she explains to me.

"Nice to meet you Chris. So, what is this high school like?" I ask her, genuinely curious.

Chris then goes on and on about how amazing the school is and the people in it. She tells me there's a lot of good looking guys, which I am looking forward to, but that most of them are jerks. She also tells me there's many bullies, but if you treat them nicely, they won't come after you. I've never experienced any type of bullying in any of my schools, because they were always small and everyone knew each other, so I'm not ready to be introduced to the concept. As Chris finishes her rant, the bus halts to a stop.

"We're here!" squeals Chris, and then she grabs my hand and pulls my off of the bus.

Once we're off the bus, Chris squeals once again when she sees a guy. He's tall, and has bronze skin. He has a bright white smile, and is very handsome. She runs up to him and kisses him passionately. I stand there awkwardly, trying to not look like the third wheel. Once they stop, Chris introduces me to him.

"Liv, this is Uriah, my boyfriend. Uriah, this is Liv, a new kid in our year!" she exclaims, seeming awfully excited for the first day of school.

"Welcome to Sydney mate! I'm sure you'll fit right into our high school." Uriah reassures me, a great big smile on his face.

"Thank you! I'm really excited to be here. This is such a big school!" I say, amazed by the big building in front of me,

"Yeah, it is. It's also got a whole lot of people! I reckon you'll make many friends." he tells me, then says he has to go get to class. I agree and then go fetch my schedule. I ask Chris where the guidance counselor's office is, and then step in. When I get in, there seems to be another student there. He's arguing with the counselor, and then looks at me angrily. He's got beautiful grey eyes, and a buff body shape. He's no macho man, but he's definitely in shape.

"Lose something over here?" he snaps at me with an angry Australian growl in his voice.

"Eric, stop it. I don't know how I can change your classes okay? Just deal with it." exasperates the woman he was arguing with. Eric marches towards the door and then slams it on his way out. I flinch a little, but shake it off.

"So, what can I do for you?" says the lady sweetly. I smile at her, and then explain.

"I heard that I should get my schedule here? I'm new and have no idea which classes I should go to."

"Ah, of course. What's your name darling?"

"Liv- I mean Olivia Bergot."

"Oh, here you are. Alright I'll print it out for you. I'm Laura by the way."

After what seemed like hours, Laura came back with a sheet of paper and a white face.

"Liv, what grade were you in in your last school?" she asks me in an anxious voice.

"T...Tenth." I answer nervously. Have I done something wrong? Why is she so nervous.

"Right. So because you did tenth grade already, I'm going to advance you to eleventh grade instead of redoing tenth." she tells me.

"What? No! I did terribly in tenth. I'd probably have to redo it anyway!" I yell, trying my hardest to keep my voice down.

"Terribly? No, you were the best in your grade. That's why I'm advancing you to eleventh grade." she explains to me, looking just as confused as I am.

"But my report card… It said I got all C's and D's." I start, but then remember my finals. I got all A's on them, so it doesn't make sense that I got C's and D's.

"Well, maybe they made a mistake. But that doesn't matter. You're in eleventh grade now." she states, then hands me my schedule. When I get out of class, I bump into someone hard. I look at them and realize it's Eric, the guy from the counselor's office.

"Watch it." he snarls. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Sorry." I mumble, then begin to walk off. He grabs my hand before I can.

"Just so you know, sophomores don't get to talk to juniors." he hisses at me.

"Well, just so _you_ know, I'm a junior, so that stupid rule doesn't apply to me." I smartmouth him.

"Okay, fine. But the rule that losers don't talk to me still applies."

"Are you calling me a loser?" I tease.

"Yes, now get out of my way." he orders me. I don't listen though, and this time stand entirely in his path. This is beginning to get fun.

"You never said anything about a rule that I can't get in your way. And also, who says I don't break rules?" I say playfully to him. I can see his face getting redder, and he begins to back me up towards a wall. I gulp, my heart racing.

"You break my rules, and I'll break you." he threatens to me. I try to stand up higher against the wall.

"Didn't your mom ever teach you not to hit women?" After I say that, he puts his arms on both sides of my shoulders, leaning against the wall, trapping me.

"I don't have a mother." he states harshly, then pushes off the wall and walks away. I let go of a breath I didn't know I had been holding.

 _Great, my first day and I've already made something hate me._ I think to myself.

 **A/N**

 **So, who liked the story so far? If you did, review so I know you did. Review what you think is going to happen, and whether or not Liv will obey Eric's rules.**


	2. Chapter 2: Self Defense

**_Hey guys. Alright so in the reviews there has been some questions. First, I am a sophomore, but it had nothing to do with my I chose that grade. Also as much as I'd like to be, I'm not Australian I'm American. I'm sorry it took so long to update, my life is kinda crazy atm._**

Classes have been rather boring throughout the day. The teachers seem to follow the same introduction: Their names, what you'll learn about this year, and their expectations. By the time lunch comes, I'm completely full of fatigue and hunger. I grab lunch and find the table where Christina and Uriah are at, as well as many new faces are there, but Christina is quick to introduce them.

"Hey Liv! I'd like to introduce you to my mates. This is Will, Marlene, Shauna, Al, Tris and Four." she announces.

"Hi guys. I'm Liv." I say shyly. Uriah flashes one of his marvelous smiles.

"You know, we're having a back to school party at the beach on Friday. If you'd like to come, you can. I'm sure Christina can drive you." he offers me. I return an eager smile. I do love to party.

"Of course! That sounds like a lot of fun. Christina, you kind of have to drive me because my mom doesn't know where anything is yet." I admit to Christina.

"I can't, I'm walking. I'm sorry." Christina apologizes.

"I'll drive you. I got my license this summer." Four brags. I smirk at him.

"I'll make sure to wear my seat belt then," I tease. That causes laughter to erupt at the table.

"But I'm picking up Eric on the way, so I hope you're comfortable with that." Four tells me. I freeze.

"Uh, Eric and I aren't really fond of eachother. I mean, I'm okay with it, but I'm not so sure about Eric." I explain to Four.

"Ah, don't sweat it. Eric's one of my best mates, he won't mind." Four reassures me. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. Maybe when I get into this group of friends, Eric will be forced to warm up to me. Once we finish our lunches, the bell rings and I'm forced to alst two more hours of boring introductions. The bell rings and I head to my last class. Wait, what's my last class. I look at my schedule and see Self Defense. That immediately lightens my mood, and I almost skip to the room. Self defense has always been something I've wanted to do, and when I saw they had it as a class here, I could not have been any happier. When I open the door to the self defense room, new car smell surrounds me and I see several punching bags scattered around the room. I look around and see Eric is already here, and punching the bag.

"Early starter, huh?" I ask him. He grunts in response, and punches the bag harder, making it go about a foot in front of him. Impressive. He has boxing gloves on which, in my opinion, is cheating because in real life you don't fight with gloves on.

"Practicing with gloves on won't help you." I warn Eric. He stops punching and looks at me.

"Mind your own business, will you?" he spits at me, and continues punching. A shiver runs down my spine, and I decide to listen to Eric. I take a pair of boxing gloves, and start punching the bag. I have a stronger kick than punch, so I begin punching once, then kicking twice. Eric looks at me with his eyebrows up. I can't help but smirk.

"Practicing with gloves won't help you." mocks Eric.

"You're _so_ funny." I tell Eric sarcastically. I begin punching and kicking the bag rapidly, that I don't even notice the teacher walk in.

"Well, it looks like we have some professionals in here." teases the teacher. She has long, blonde hair, and she is very muscular.

"Just getting a head start." I reply, turning towards her. She smiles and explains how this class is going to work. We will train our endurance, such as running, first. Then punching and kicking techniques. After we will learn how to block and get out of tough situations. Finally, at the end of the semester, we will fight each other. I smiled when she said that. I like the way she teaches. It's one step at a time, and at the end, it will determine how much progress we made. She finishes off my telling us her first name, Lauren, and how she expects us to call her by it.

Lauren, unlike any other teacher today, actually made us do things.

"Run for fifteen minutes, and tell me how many laps you managed to do." She started her timer, and then said go. I always liked running, so this would be fairly easy for me. I normally run on weekends uphill, so flat ground is always a breeze for me. I pass five people, and run towards the front of the pack, which consisted of Eric, and this guy named Edward. I decided their pace was a good pace for me, so for a few laps I ran with them. The last five minutes though, I ran ahead of them. I sprinted, and managed to fit in another three laps. Overall, I ran seven laps in fifteen minutes, which was about three miles. Eric and Edward are giving me dirty looks because I beat them.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I had to go at your pace." I finally snapped, when Eric narrowed his eyes at me. It seemed to catch him by surprise.

"Oh please. We all know you were trying to be first. That's not the point of this exercise. It's just meant to get you in shape." Eric hissed back. Anger begins to bubble inside of me.

"I don't know if you usually harass the new students, or if it's just me, but either way I'm not taking this crap." I yell at him, walking, no stomping, away angrily. I was about to open the door and leave the room, but a hand grabbed mine.

"Class isn't over yet mate." Eric says to me softly. I feel the coldness in me towards him melt away. That damn Australian accent.

 **A/N**

 **Okay, so I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry if it's a little crappy, but I promise the next one will be longer and better. Enjoy :)**


	3. Chapter 3: House Warming

The rest of the class Eric left me alone. We didn't talk, look, or acknowledge each other. I think he finally realized he was way out of line. I walked out of class with a thin layer of sweat coating my body, and I decided to take a shower before I went home. I headed to the locker rooms and started undressing. I step into the cold shower, immediately feeling refreshed. Suddenly, I see someone tugging on my curtain and I rush to get a towel over myself.

"I-I'm in here," I warn, hoping they hear me over the rush of water. The curtain comes crashing down, and I see a group of girls laughing at me and pointing, while I stand there red faced and naked other than the towel wrapped around myself. I rush past them and run to a bathroom stall. I forgot my clothes next to the shower. Dammit. I wait for what seemed like hours for the girls to leave and then grab my clothes and change.

 _How am I going to get home?_ I think to myself. I start to panic and i can feel tears building up in my eyes. This school is awful, I just want to go back to my old school. But then I realize I can't, and there is no point in crying. I take a deep breath, wipe away the nonexistent tears and calm down.

"What are you still doing here?" I hear a familiar voice say behind me. I don't need to turn around to identify the voice. I know it's Eric.

"Got caught up in the bathroom," I explain, wanting to be vague. I don't feel like explaining what happened.

"I heard what happened." Eric informs me. I feel my heart sink.

" _Does everyone know?"_ I ask in a whisper, ashamed.

"I'm not sure. I'm not one to comfort people, but those girls are stupid. They are obnoxious. I'm not saying this for you, it's just the truth." he tells me in a non- comforting way, more matter- a- factly. I hum as a response.

"Do you need a ride home?" he offers me. I finally look at him and give a thankful smile. His eyes are greyish blue right now, probably the calmest I've ever seen them. His hair is tossled, not the usual slicked back style.

"Yeah, kind of. I mean if you don't mind." I tell him, feeling bad for making him drive me.

"Oh shut up I'm not making you walk all the way home." I follow him into his car, which is quite nice. It smells like him as well.

"So, where do you live?" he asks me.

"Lampson road," I answer.

"Well that's inconvenient. You live down the road from me." he says with a frown.

"Don't you mean convenient because I live close to you?" I ask.

"Nope, inconvenient because I have to see more of you." he teases, and I roll my eyes.

The car ride home was full of teasing and laughing. Honestly, I feel like the term flirting would fit this perfectly. We arrived at my house and I got out of the car. I thanked him for driving me, but realized he was out of the car too.

"I'll walk you to your door," he said matter of fact.

"That's not necessary. I'm not two years old," I told him. He snorted and put his arm around my back, leading me to the door. I felt weak from his touch. When his hand was away from my back I felt a longing for it. Once we reached my door, I said goodbye and turned the handle- it wouldn't open. Eric looked at me with his eyebrows up.

"Don't you have a key or something?" he asked me.

"Well I figured my parents would be home by now, so no." I snapped back at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Alright then, follow me." he grabbed my hand which caught me by surprise and led me to his car.

"Are you kidnapping me?" I teased.

"Nah, that's useless. I'm taking you to my house." he told me and got in the car. When we got to his house I realized no one was there.

 _Fuck,_ I thought to myself, _he wants sex._

I was okay with it, but it's the first day. I don't want to be the hoe of the school.

"You hungry?" he asked while opening the fridge.

"Not really. Do you have wine though? This day was horrible." I watched him slowly turn around from the fridge and smile.

"Wine? On a Monday? Damn, you're crazy." he laughed.

"But you like crazy, don't you?" I flirted with him. He put his hand through his hair and walked towards me.

"Not this crazy." he inched even closer and when I thought he was going to kiss me, he grabbed two wine glasses from behind me. My heart skipped a beat. I could feel how red my face was. Eric giggled and I glared at him. He poured white wine and handed me a glass.

"Cheers," he said to me. I downed one glass before he even took a sip. His eyes were wide.

"Oh, was I supposed to savor it or something?" I asked.

"No, but you're gonna get drunk if you drink it that quick." he warned me. I rolled my eyes.

"Please, I could drink five of these and only be tipsy." I bragged.

"Oh yeah, prove it." he challenged me. I smiled and got ready for this. He refilled my glass, and handed it to me.

"One down, four to go," he told me. I smirked at him and downed the glass. I felt the alcohol burn my throat.

"Easy." I said in his face. He refilled mine and his. I downed it in only 2 gulps. Eric looked impressed.

"Three more," he cheered me on. I felt the alcohol making me heavy and light at the same time. I leaned on the counter.

"Fuck I'm tipsy," I laughed, drinking the fourth cup.

"I can tell." Eric told me, laughing.

"Gimme the last cup." I commanded him, loving the feeling. I downed it and sat down on the counter top.

"Is this okay?" I asked, my words slurring. Eric laughed, finishing his third cup of wine.

"Yes, of course." he told me softly. I opened my legs on the counter a little, having the urge to kiss Eric. He looked at me while drinking his fourth cup.

"Drunk yet?" I asked him, but he shook his head.

"Hell no, I'm just tipsy." he bragged. I was drunk though. Eric suddenly put his cup down and put his hands on my thighs. I was immediately turned on. Eric opened my legs even more, rubbing my thighs and standing in between them. He smiled at me and kissed my jaw, sort of asking for permission. When he took his lips off my jaw I put my hand on his chin and lifted his lips up to mine. We made out and he lifted me up so my legs were around him. He squeezed my ass and lead me to the living room, where the couch was. My crop top was being lifted up and I was taking off Eric's shirt when I came to my senses. I pulled away a little.

"Wait, wait. I'm drunk and you're drunk. Is this really the best idea?" I asked him. His eyes were full of hunger of me and I touched his stomach a little. He sighed.

"Why the fuck did you have to sit on the counter," he asked me, seeming angry.

"Well, you're the one that said I could." I argued back. He grunted and I put my crop top back on, Eric watching my every move. I leaned forward and kissed Eric on the lips and he pushed me a little.

"Nah, mate. I just wanted to have some fun. This ends now if you don't want it." he yelled to me rudely. I flinched a little and got up from the couch.

"Well, let's just pretend this never happened then, shall we," I whispered quietly. He agreed and lit a cigarette. I turned around and didn't look back. When I got home, I laid on my bed, thinking about him. He's a catch, but he needs to grow up. If all he wants his sex, then why doesn't he just hire a hooker or something… His lips are really soft though.


	4. Chapter 4: Is this Normal?

The next day at school Eric and I avoided all eye contact the whole day. And then self defense came. I walked in and he was once again punching already. I yelled at myself for coming in again early. I put on my boxing gloves and started punching the bag. Suddenly I realized I was the only person in the room, and I wondered where Eric went. Then, I hear a couple footsteps walking toward me. My heart races and I take off my gloves. A group of guys come from around the corner and circle me.

"I heard you are down to have fun. What about with me baby?" one guy taunted. I scoffed and tried to get out. They caught me and started touching my ass and my boobs. I punched and kicked and one guy yelled and slapped me across the face. Then they pushed me to the ground and led me to a different part of the school. I tried screaming but they covered my mouth with their hand. Suddenly I heard kicking and yelling and I was left alone. I took off a blindfold they put on me and saw Eric there, breathing heavily.

"What the FUCK Eric," I yelled, pushing him. "Did you fucking tell them I liked to "have fun"? I said we will never talk about it. They were going to fucking rape me!" I yelled at him and shoved him.

"Stop it." he demanded in a deep husky voice.

"Stop? You want _me_ to stop?" I shrieked at him.

"I didn't say shit." he argued.

"Then how do they know, Eric." I asked softly, brushing my hair back with my hand.

"I don't know, I'm still trying to figure that out." he looks me directly in the eyes. I feel that weakness again, so I look away. Suddenly he tries to touch my cheek and I flinch. Worry travels through his eyes.

"Are you scared of me or something?" he asks, sounding offended.

"Eric, now is not the time." I quickly answered, walking away. I really wanted it, but I _am_ actually scared that he's just like that group of guys. Eric shot me a look and turned away.

"Class is starting, we should get going." he reminded me cooly, walking away. I followed him with a distance and finally reached the class.

"Look who finally decided to show up." teased Lauren. "You guys have to do ten more minutes of running, and since you're such pros, you'll have to fight each other as well." she informed us with a smirk on her face. Eric complained and I sighed.

 _Great,_ I thought to myself, _Just what I needed._

Eric and I ran essentially at the same pace the whole time, but we ran in silence.

"Race you the final five minutes?" I challenged him.

"Oh, you're on." he said with a smile on his face in his beautiful accent. We ran and ran until we were both full on sprinting, until he passed me and managed to beat me but 20 meters.

"I totally let you win," I lied.

"Sureee," he teased. I laughed and walked towards the mat. Everybody was cheering Eric's name and I knew I was going to lose.

"Alright then, let me tell you the rules: punching and kicking only. You won't wear gloves and you stop when the person tells you to. And guys, try to avoid bloodshed." Lauren explained. She counted us off from three and the fight started. Eric and I circled each other and suddenly he lunged toward me. I took a step back and dodged the punch, catching his arm and flipping him over. The crowd went wild. Eric looked pissed and got up. Before I know it, he has me around the waist and throws me to the ground. He punches me softly in the ribs and across the face. I grunt, but turn him over so I'm on top. I punch him hard on the jaw and once in the stomach. He doesn't even flinch. He turns me over again and punches me hard in the temple. I get up as a survival technique and take a jump back. Dizziness hits me. He comes towards me again with a kick in the stomach. I manage to get a punch in, but he catches my leg before I kick him and flips me over. While I'm still processing what happened, he punches me hard in the temple again, and everything turns black.

"Liv, Liv, are you awake?" asks someone who seems like they're miles away. I open my eyes and realize I'm still on the mat. Eric is sitting beside me, holding an ice pack to my head. I get up quickly.

"Ah, ah, ah. You need to chill out for a sec. I knocked you out good." he commands me in a soft voice. I listen and lay back down.

"I won, right?" I joke. He chuckles and shakes his head.

"Nearly," he lies. I smile and close my eyes.

"Can you drive me home again today. Pretty sure I missed my bus." I ask him.

"Of course," he answers. He lifts my torso up and gives me a bottle of water. Nobody else is in the room and I become confused.

"Did Lauren really leave?" I ask him, feeling kind of hurt.

"Nah, she went to call your parents to explain why you're going to be back late." he tells me. I nod.

"Well, they're probably still going to be at work anyways." I mutter.

"What do you mean?" he asks, and I jump realizing I said it out loud.

"Nevermind," I reply, getting up fully. "I'm ready for that ride now." I tell him. He smiles and puts his hand on my chin.

"These hits are going to turn into some brutal bruises, sorry." he apologizes. I shake my head.

"Don't worry, I'm used to it." I explain to him, and he looks at me with curiosity.

"Getting hit?" he asks.

"Uhhh, yea. My old school, um, they were really into fighting," I lied. The truth is my dad is a person who loves his whiskey, and when he drinks too much of it, bruises on my face start to show up. Eric looks at me skeptically.

"Right… Are you sure that's what happened?" Eric pries. I nod and change the topic.

"Let's gooooo." I demand him and I grab his hand and lead him to his car. He follows and grips my hand tight. I smile to myself and continue walking. In the car something weird happens. We get in and Eric starts driving with one hand, the other on my leg, as if it were the most normal thing. I went along with it because it just seemed… natural. He got to my house and before I got out of the car I kissed him, but not a long, makeout session. More of a smooch on the lips, as if we were a couple. Neither of us questioned it, we just played along. I walked to my door, and once again it was locked. I was kind of happy about it though.

"Locked out once again," I say, shrugging.

"Hmmm, I wonder what we'll do," smiles Eric. I laugh and wrap my arms around his neck.

"Maybe we can go to your house or something?" I tease. He grabs my waist and lifts me to his car. I giggle and sit in the passenger seat. We pull in to his house and practically run inside. I go to his kitchen and sit on his counter. He comes and we replay yesterday for the most part, except instead of going to the couch to have "fun", we go to the couch and cuddle up, and put on a movie. It was really nice, and occasionally we shared passionate kisses. He rubbed my waist and butt, and I played with his hair. Eventually we fell asleep in each other's arms and awoke to screaming.

"Eric, who the fuck do you think you are bringing home another one of your whores to this house!" screamed a man with a raspy voice. He came over to the couch and pulled the blanket from us. I quickly got up and got a whiff of a way too familiar smell: alcohol. I immediately felt pity for Eric because he looked so embarrassed, but at the same time angry.

"Don't you dare call her a whore, Steve. Go upstairs, you're drunk." Eric demands in a deep voice. I hide behind Eric a little. The man, Steve, scoffed and walked upstairs, looking confused. Eric sighed.

"I'm sorry for that, Liv. Steve is my stepfather and he's just a little-" he started but I stopped him.

"Stop, you don't have to explain. I get it." I assure Eric, hugging him a little. He kisses my forehead and rubs my back.

"You should probably get going. I don't want you sticking around this house with him in it." Eric warns. I get the message and collect my things.

"Thank you for today. It was really nice." I thanked him, and kissed him on the lips. It was so normal and it just felt _right_. He also looked casual and I walked home, wanting some fresh air. I had such an eventful day, and I really just need a nap or something.

As I later found out, I got the opposite.


	5. Chapter 5: Like father like son

When I came home I found my mom on the floor with a busted lip. My heart sank. My dad was drunk again. I helped my mom up and brought her to the living room couch and laid her down.

"Where is he?" I asked her angrily.

"Sweetie, he's really bad this time. Don't get involved." she warns me. I hear the sound of bottles hitting each other in the kitchen and immediately enter. There I see my dad barely walking, with an angry look on his face.

"Dad, you hit mom again." I hissed at him. He rolled his eyes.

"What are you gonna do, fight me?" he asks in a slurry voice.

"If you ever hit her again, I will." I answered. He narrowed his evil blue eyes at me.

"Is that a threat, bitch? Don't ever do that again or else I swear I'll hit her harder!" he yells at me. I don't flinch but instead stand my ground.

"Don't fucking test me." I yell back. He lunges towards me and slaps me across the face. I fight back, punching him in the stomach and kicking, but he has me by the throat. When I turn red and can't breath, he lets go. He steps back a little, and wipes his forehead.

"Go, dad. Go far away for tonight and don't come back until you're sober." I whisper, my throat still raspy.

"I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to. Please forgive-" he starts.

"GO!" I yell, pointing towards the door. He looks down at his shoes and walks out the house, and until he is out of the driveway do I move from the kitchen to my mom. I realize I am shaking and my eyes are watering.

"Mom, mom are you okay?" I ask worried. She has swollen eyes from crying, and her lip and nose is bleeding drastically.

"I'm so sorry Liv. I don't know why he does this… I just don't get it." she cries to me, examining my injuries.

"He needs to go mom. For good," I tell her. She nods, but I know she won't. We've been through this same situation ever since I was thirteen years old. We've always had this conversation, and she always does the same nod, but doesn't ever do anything. I grab her hand.

"Mom, I'm serious. If you don't do something about it, I will." I threaten. She looks at me with frantic eyes.

"Sweetie, you know I try. It's just… It's not the man I fell in love with. All of this is the alcohol, not your dad." she explains to me. I shake my head.

"I don't care mom. Something needs to change." I finish, getting up and going to my room. I sigh, and lay in my bed.

 _Why can't things just be normal,_ I ask myself. With that, I fall into a deep slumber.

I wake up to the beeping of my alarm. I grunt and get out of bed and get ready. Five minutes before the bus comes, I hear a car honking outside my window. I look out to see Eric outside his car, honking the horn. I run downstairs with a big smile on my face and say goodbye to my mom. I walk outside and smile.

"Is this going to be every morning?" I ask him. He laughs.

"Only when I feel like it." he answers. I giggle and jump into the passenger seat. I give him a quick smooch and we get on our way. I look over at Eric and he looks at me at a stop sign, but he frowns.

"What is it?" I ask self-consciously, playing with my hair. He gestures to his neck.

"What happened there?" he asks, sounding concerned. My face turns white.

"Oh, uh. I think it's one of the bruises you gave me yesterday." I blurt.

"No, I didn't touch your neck. Liv, what's going on, seriously?" he asks again. I play with my hands.

"Eric, can you just drop it? It's none of your business." I snap at him. He lowers his eyebrows at me.

"Uh, it actually is, mate. And I'm not dropping it until you tell me the truth." he stubbornly says. I don't answer, but instead look out the window. I feel Eric's hand shift, and before I know it, it's gripping my thigh.

"Liv, tell me." he demands. School is right in front of us, and when he parked I quickly got out of the car. I can't tell him. He'll pity me too much. I walk quickly towards the building until I felt someone grab my hand. Eric pulls me to face him, and didn't let me go.

"Eric, stop!" I yell frantically. My mind flashes back to when my dad held me down with one hand while beating my mom right in front of me. My eyes watered and my vision blurred. Eric let go and put his hand up at his sides. He backs away from me and I quickly walk away. I can't deal with this right now. I decide I need a day off to get my shit together, so I walk to the nearest bus station. I need some fresh air. I get on the bus and get off when I see water. Water is my absolute love and fear at the same time. It's a lake and it's not directly off the road, but about a five minute walk. I get there and strip down to my bra and underwear and jump in it. I immediately feel relieved, and swim for a while. Once I'm completely refreshed, I get up and sit out in the sun, air drying, until I look at the clock. It is Friday, which is the big party. I'm going, but I'll catch a ride with just Four, because I don't want to see Eric right now. I'll ask Four and tell him Eric can drive himself. I take the bus home and text Four.

 **Liv: Hey Four! Is the party still on tonight?**

 **Four: You bet! It'll be a blast mate.**

 **Liv: Hahaha, I'm sure. Can I still have the ride?**

 **Four: Of course. I'm the designated driver tonight.**

 **Liv: Can we not ride with Eric? Please?**

 **Four: Sorry, already promised him.**

 **Liv: Okay, I can take a taxi then.**

 **Four: Nonono, you're coming with me, not a weird ass taxi. Eric can sit in the very back, I drive a pickup truck.**

 **Liv: Perfect. See you when?**

 **Four: 10 work for you?**

 **Liv: Yupppp.**

 **Four: Alright, see you at 10**

I spend the next few hours getting ready. I do my makeup, I do my hair and put on a sexy one piece swimsuit in some leather pants. I put on dark shadow and lip gloss, and put my hair up in a sexy high ponytail. Then I slip on my basic Vans and look at the time. 9:56. Perfect timing for me. I walk outside and see a smiley Four in the front, but an angry Eric in the way back of the truck. I couldn't help but laugh, but hid it well. I decided to sit way up by Four to avoid getting too close to Eric. I don't know why, but I feel very anxious with him. I can never calm down, I'm always worried about my actions.

"What's up Liv?" Four asks in an excited tone.

"Hey, I'm just ready to get wasted hahah." I laugh. He laughs too and we start on the road. It's only a 20 minute drive filled with Four and I jamming out to music and laughing. It was really fun actually. Four is really nice…

When we arrive I hear the loud music and the screams and laughs. My heart is pounding for the excitement. We go in and I am immediately handed a cup of beer. I chug it in two seconds and go look for more. Four follows, and Eric is already off flirting with some chick. What a player… Four fills my beer cup up and lays out two shots.

"Aren't you our designated driver?" I ask him, confused.

"These are for you, thought you might like them." he answers, a beaming smile on his face.

"You know me so well," I laugh, taking them both. I feel tingles in my hands and weak in my legs. I need to dance. I grab Four's hand and lead him to the dance floor. There we dance for what seems like hours, laughing and grinding, but never kissing. I occasionally see Eric glaring at us, but I don't care. It feels much more natural with Four, and I'm having a lot of fun. Until Truth or Dare came up. Once almost everybody left, it was just my crew there: Uriah, Christina, Will, Eric, Four and I and a few other girls and boys who I wasn't entirely familiar with. Eric was really touchy with one of the girls, always grabbing her ass or touching the inside of her thigh. I pang went through my chest.

"ALRIGHT EVERYBODY!" screams Uriah, "WE ARE GOING TO PLAY TRUTH OR DARE. EVERYONE GET IN A CIRCLE AROUND ME!"

I follow his orders and sit next to Christina and Four. The rules are explained, and we start. Christina dares Uriah to try to twerk, others dare someone to take three body shots, and I realized nobody picks truth. I've already gone once and chose dare, which was to get licked by Christina on the cheek. My second turn came and I decided to take truth. The person asking was Four, and he paused and thought for a moment.

"If you were to get fucked by anyone in this room, who would you prefer?" he asked. I stopped talking and thought.

"Myself…" I answer, not trying to be funny but everyone in the room started cracking up. Eric grunted and muttered.

"She already has fucked someone in the room."

Everybody got quiet and looked at him with a curious face. My heart sank and I turned red.

"Uhhhh… what do you mean?" asked Christina.

"She's technically already the hoe of the school. Look closely. First she fools around with me, gives me what I want and now she's on to Four." he accuses. I turn red of anger.

"What do you mean, Eric?" I ask with a sharp tone to my voice. He narrows his eyes.

"You know exactly what I mean," he goes on, winking at me.

"Liv… You and Eric slept together?" asks Uriah, slowly.

"Fuck no. I would never. I don't know why he's lying. He's probably just upset about me hanging out with Four." I fight back. He scoffs.

"Oh please, get over yourself. If you think I'm jealous you're wrong. Why are you denying it, Liv. Cmon, give the people what they want, the truth." he teases. I stand up suddenly.

"Shut the fuck Eric and grow up. I don't care if people believe your stupid lies and I don't even know why you're lying in the first place, but at least I know I didn't fuck you." I scream, stomping out of the room. I hear Four get up and walk behind me.

"Liv, he's drunk. He says stupid things when he's drunk. He probably didn't mean to tell the secret-" Four starts, but I interrupt him.

"There's no secret! I didn't sleep with Eric! We just fucking kissed and that's it. Why do you people believe him!" I shout frantically. Four comes to me and grabs my shoulders.

"I believe you," he says softly. I relax my tense muscles a little and cool down.

"It's just so frustrating, you know?" I tell him, sitting on the back of his pickup truck.

"Yeah, but no one believes him. He's said shit like this before. He'll probably apologize tomorrow." he explains.

"But that's no friendship. I shouldn't give him another chance because he'll just fuck me up again." I argue. Four nods.

"That's why no one is best friends with him. I tried, but it's like talking to a wall. He only tells lies, and won't ever open up to someone. We were really good friends last year, but then he started saying shit that wasn't true. You can't take it personally, even though sometimes it's really hard." Four tells me. I flash back to his step dad, and realize that Eric has a tough life, and I get it. I nod.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't think he means to do this." I agree.

"Are you ready to go back inside?" Four asks. I nod and we walk inside together. When I walk back in everybody is already playing again, acting as if nothing happen. I let out a sigh of relief, realizing no one believes him. I hop back into the game and catch Eric staring at me. He mouths "Can we talk" and I nod. We walk to the kitchen and I lean on the counter instead of sitting.

"I don't know what happened back there, but you have some explaining to do." I start. He scratches the back of his neck.

"I was having a bad time and I wanted you to feel it too. Nothing more to say." he says cooly.

"Ummm, excuse me? This is the time to apologize. I'm giving you a chance to say you're sorry for making me look like a hoe. If I were you I would take it." I snapped.

"But you are a hoe. You fool around with me the first day of school and only like 5 days later you're messing with another guy." he argues. I scoff.

"I'm not fooling around with Four. We're friends." I explain. Eric pauses for a while.

"Then why were you fucking grinding on him?" he asks.

"Why were you fucking watching me?" I say back. He rolls his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm done with this conversation." he says and starts walking around. I grab his arm.

"No… nah this isn't-" I start but he turns around and shoves me against the wall. He raises his arm up me as if he's about to hit me, but I stand my ground like I do with my dad. I'm sure Eric saw the utter fear in my eyes, because he dropped his hand immediately. I smile a disappointed smile while nodding my head and walk away.

"Liv, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." he says, but I can barely hear it. I'm done with Eric. I can never date a guy like my father, and that is what Eric is like. I walk out to the living room, grab my coat and walk out of the house. Not saying goodbye, not asking for a ride, but instead fetching a taxi. I go out the back so no one can see me leaving, and I just catch a taxi back home.

 _How could Eric do this to me?_ I think to myself. _I've given him so many chances, I've showed him so much and he still treats me like this. I can't do it anymore. I can't be around him anymore._ I decide, and wipe the tears from my face.


End file.
